Roberto Mancini returns to lead the Italian national football team for a second time, stepping into a role that became available only after a cascade of controversy, withdrawal, and resignation reshaped the federation's leadership within a single day. His reappointment carries the weight of a nation that has not appeared at a World Cup since 2014 — a silence that sits uneasily against Italy's four tournament victories. In choosing a familiar hand over an uncertain future, Italian football reaches back toward a man who once brought it its greatest recent joy, and also its most painful modern hu
Mancini returns as Italy boss after Pirlo's Russian betting ties controversy
Italy's absence from the World Cup since 2014 represents a historic drought
Mark
Why did Pirlo step away so suddenly? Was the betting company connection really disqualifying?
Mimi
It appears the federation felt the controversy was too much baggage to carry into a major rebuilding project. When you're trying to restore credibility after two World Cup failures, you can't afford distractions or questions about your leadership's judgment.
Mark
And Maldini resigned because they didn't hire Pirlo? That seems like a strong statement.
Mimi
It does. Maldini had only been in the technical director role for two weeks, so his resignation suggests he had staked his position on Pirlo being appointed. When that didn't happen, he chose to leave rather than work under Mancini.
Mark
Mancini has already failed to get Italy to a World Cup once. Why bring him back?
Mimi
Because he also won Euro 2020 and built something genuinely impressive—that thirty-seven-game unbeaten run was real. The federation apparently decided his track record of success outweighed the recent failure, especially when other options like Guardiola and Ancelotti weren't available.
Mark
Is there pressure on him immediately, or does he get a grace period?
Mimi
The Nations League matches in September will be watched closely, but the real pressure is the World Cup cycle. Italy has to qualify for 2026, and they have to do it convincingly. There's no grace period when you're trying to end a twelve-year absence from the tournament.
Mark
What does his time in Qatar tell us about where he's been?
Mimi
It shows he's been working, but not at the highest level. Al Sadd is a good club, but it's not a stage where you're tested against Europe's best. Coming back to Italy is a return to the pressure cooker—and that's probably what he needs.
O Pulso
- Andrea Pirlo's withdrawal over ties to a Russian betting company set off an immediate institutional crisis, pulling Maldini and Leonardo out of the federation within hours.
- Italy's absence from three consecutive World Cups has created a pressure that no appointment can fully absorb — the federation is not merely hiring a coach but attempting to restore a national identity.
- Mancini's own record is a study in contradiction: the architect of a thirty-seven-game unbeaten run and a European Championship triumph, yet also the manager present for two qualifying collapses.
- The federation had reached toward Guardiola and Ancelotti before circling back to Mancini, suggesting that ambition gave way to pragmatism under the weight of the moment.
- With Nations League matches against Belgium and Turkey arriving in late September, the rebuild has no grace period — results will be demanded before the dust has settled.
Roberto Mancini returns to lead the Italian national football team for a second time, stepping into a role that became available only after a cascade of controversy, withdrawal, and resignation reshaped the federation's leadership within a single day. His reappointment carries the weight of a nation that has not appeared at a World Cup since 2014 — a silence that sits uneasily against Italy's four tournament victories. In choosing a familiar hand over an uncertain future, Italian football reaches back toward a man who once brought it its greatest recent joy, and also its most painful modern humiliation.
Roberto Mancini has been reappointed as Italy's national football manager, the Italian Football Federation announced on Tuesday — less than twenty-four hours after the position was thrown into turmoil by Andrea Pirlo's withdrawal and the subsequent resignations of technical director Paolo Maldini and federation adviser Leonardo. Pirlo had been the leading candidate to replace Gennaro Gattuso, who stepped down in April following Italy's failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. But controversy over Pirlo's connections to a Russian betting company led him to remove himself from consideration, triggering a swift institutional unravelling.
Mancini, sixty-one, knows this role intimately. His first tenure, from 2018 to 2023, produced both the high of Euro 2020 — won in a Wembley final against England — and the low of a stunning defeat to North Macedonia that kept Italy out of the 2022 World Cup. When a second qualifying failure arrived earlier this year, he resigned. The federation subsequently approached Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti before FIGC president Giovanni Malago concluded that Mancini remained the right man. In the intervening period, Mancini had managed Saudi Arabia's national team and Qatar's Al Sadd, winning the Qatar Stars League but departing without major continental honours.
Claudio Ranieri, the manager who guided Leicester City to their extraordinary Premier League title in 2016, will serve as the new technical director. Italy's first matches under Mancini's renewed stewardship come in late September, with a home Nations League fixture against Belgium followed by a trip to Turkey — the opening moves in what must become a sustained effort to return a four-time World Cup winner to the tournament it has been absent from since 2014.
Roberto Mancini is back. On Tuesday, the Italian Football Federation announced his appointment as national team manager for a second time, less than twenty-four hours after Andrea Pirlo withdrew his candidacy and Paolo Maldini, the federation's technical director, resigned from his post.
The timing was not accidental. Pirlo had appeared to be the leading contender to replace Gennaro Gattuso, who stepped down in April following Italy's failure to reach a third consecutive World Cup. But on Monday, Pirlo announced he would not pursue the role, citing controversy surrounding his connections to a Russian betting company. The decision triggered a cascade of departures. Maldini, who had been in his technical director position for only two weeks, and Leonardo, a federation adviser, both resigned in response to the choice not to hire Pirlo.
Mancini, sixty-one, is no stranger to the job. He managed Italy from 2018 to 2023, a tenure marked by genuine achievement and genuine failure in equal measure. He won Euro 2020, defeating England in the final at Wembley, and guided the team through a remarkable thirty-seven-game unbeaten streak. Yet he also presided over the collapse that saw Italy lose to North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier in 2022, a result that kept them out of that tournament entirely. When another play-off defeat arrived earlier this year, eliminating them from this summer's competition, Mancini resigned.
The federation had cast a wide net before settling on Mancini. Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti were both approached about the position. Giovanni Malago, the FIGC president, ultimately concluded that Mancini was the right choice. "I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini," Malago said.
Mancini's career has been peripatetic in recent years. After leaving Italy, he took a brief assignment with Saudi Arabia's national team before moving to Qatar, where he managed Al Sadd. That spell ended in June without major silverware—the team won the Qatar Stars League but fell short in continental competition and lost the Qatar Cup final.
Before his first stint with Italy, Mancini had built a substantial resume. He won the Premier League with Manchester City in 2012, the first of their modern dominance. He claimed Serie A titles with Inter Milan and the Coppa Italia with both Inter and Lazio. He had also managed Galatasaray and Zenit St Petersburg, accumulating experience across multiple leagues and continents.
Claudio Ranieri, who led Leicester City to an improbable Premier League title in 2015-16, will take over as technical director, replacing Maldini. Silvio Baldini, the Under-21 manager, had been holding the senior role on a temporary basis since Gattuso's departure.
Italy's absence from the World Cup since 2014 represents a historic drought for a nation that won the tournament four times. Mancini's task is to reverse a trajectory that has seen two consecutive qualifying failures. His first test arrives in September, when Italy hosts Belgium in the Nations League on the twenty-fifth, followed by a trip to Turkey three days later. The rebuild begins immediately.
Citações Notáveis
I believed that the best person to become head coach was Roberto Mancini— Giovanni Malago, FIGC president
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